literature

'Spirit of the West' 5

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        Skunk cannonballed off the deep end of the motel pool and swamped Stick with the resulting wave.
Stick looked around for Skunk and frowned: he was alone. Then something grabbed his feet and pulled him under. Stick screamed and thrashed. The little elf somersaulted under water then popped back up, dog paddling.
Maer’yt gave a belated start and hauled himself half out of the frothing hot tub to look. “Wha..?”

Skunk dripped down at Stick, grinning, then squirted water into his face.
Stick splashed Skunk, kicked at him and staggered out of the pool. He stomped his way outside in the direction of the room, leaving little wet elf prints on the sidewalk.

Skunk watched the top of Stick’s head bob along the wall of windows and snickered. He got out of the pool and sat on the edge of the hot tub, dangling his legs in the warm water.
Maer’yt blinked. “I think you made him mad.”
Skunk snickered again. “Can he even get into the room?”

Maer’yt opened his mouth then closed it again. “Crap.” He grabbed the safety rail and carefully stood. He winced as he picked up his towel.

Skunk could see the dark bruises on his friend’s chest, the stitched wound. He bit his lip. “Does it hurt?”

Maer’yt smiled. “Of course it does. But it’s far better then being dead!”
“Were you hurt as bad as I was? That… one time, I mean.” Skunk unthinkingly laid a hand over his own torso and the faded scars there.

“No. Not as bad as that. You had a bunch of broken ribs and lots of internal damage. Me? Bullet grazed a rib and I bled like a stuck pig all over the place.” Maer’yt bent slowly to wrap the towel around his hair then stopped and grabbed the railing, towel fluttering to the ground.

“Here…” Skunk nicked the towel and flopped it awkwardly around the older elf’s head.
“Thanks.” Maer’yt murmured, straightening. “Better get your boots.” He said then and pointed towards the windows.
Skunk turned and smirked. “Bet he’s pissed, yeah.”

Stick was coming back. The knob on the door turned and Stick stood there, arms crossed. His hair was starting to dry and stood up off his head in wild white cowlicks.
The boy glared. “Door not open.” He crossed his arms over his bare brown belly and glared.
Skunk scooped up everyone’s clothes and doled them out. He fumbled in a pocket awkwardly and tossed Stick the key.
The elves left and dashed to the room. The night was cold, the wind nipping their damp skin.

“Ugh” Maer’yt said, shivering, his back to the door. “Remind me not to do that again anytime soon.”

Stick climbed up on the closest bed and bounced.
Skunk pulled one of the backpacks on his lap and rummaged through it. He pulled out pajamas for the two of them and Stick’s green plush dragon and set them aside on the bed where they wouldn’t be stepped on. Then he dug through the other backpack and pulled out some of Ravanata’s clothing for Maer’yt to wear.

“You guys mind if I take a quick shower?” Maer’yt scooped up the clothes, sorted through them then wandered off into the bathroom.  There was the sound of water running in the tub and a cloud of steam poofed through the door until Maer’yt kicked it closed.

Maer’yt came out a little later wearing flannel pajama bottoms, his torso bare. His skin was reddened by the hot water and his long hair hung down past his waist.  He dug through his backpack and pulled out a first aid kit. Out came a gauze bandage and a roll of medical tape. “Skunk? Can you patch me up? I can’t quite reach.”

Skunk shrugged and walked over. He fiddled with the bandage and stuck it on over Maer’yt’s ribs, over a rich purple-black bruise. “Go sit on the bed Merry- I’ll braid your hair so you can, you know, go to sleep.”
Maer’yt sat.

Skunk found a brush in the bottom of one of the packs and ran it through Maer’yt’s vibrant locks.  Then he put the brush aside, slid onto the bed behind Maer’yt and took up a chunk of hair. His knee pressed against the small of Maer’yt’s back, his breath warm on the back of his neck.

Maer’yt chuckled. “That tickles.” He’d never thought of how intimate the subtle pull and twist of someone else doing his hair could be.
Apparently neither had Skunk. As soon as the boy finished he slipped off the bed and smiled shyly, admiring his handiwork.

“Kissie- Kissie!” Stick chirped grinning from the other bed, and made a smacking noise with his lips. “You make beeeutiful girl, Merry!”
Maer’yt shook his head and pulled on the top. “I am not a girl.” He crawled under the sheets, snagged the comforter and pulled it tight around his chin.

Is he asleep?” Stick asked quietly a few minutes later. He was staring at Maer’yt. The older elf wasn’t moving.
“Shhh… I think so.” Skunk said. “You want a bath? Big place like this has to have lots and lots of hot water.”

“I want nice clothes. Mine smell bad. You smell bad.” Stick wrinkled his nose. “I want bath.” The little boy snagged the dragon and tucked it in beside Maer’yt, then stroked his long hair. “Poor Merry.”

Skunk picked up Stick’s jammies and put them on the closed lid of the toilet. He flipped the faucets on, wiggled them around until the water felt good then went back into the main room. “Stick! Hey! Don’t poke ‘im!”

Skunk picked up the squirming boy and carried him into the bathroom.  He stripped him with practiced ease and tumbled him into the tub.
Stick splashed happily in the warm water then tried to submerge and escape when he saw Skunk pick up the shampoo bottle.
“Oh no ya don’t!” Skunk dipped into the tub and wrestled the boy up. He flicked the cap off the bottle and squirted green suds onto Stick’s fine white hair. Then quick as a wink he lathered him up, dark fingers disappearing into the thick layer of bubbles- despite Stick’s protests.
“If you close your eyes and stop trying to get away then it won’t hurt!” Skunk admonished. “Okay, now dunk.”
Stick pretended he was a fish and burbled in the bottom of the tub.  
Skunk rinsed out the shampoo and attacked him with the complimentary miniature bar of soap and conditioner.

“I smell like a girl.” Stick complained, climbing out of the tub and onto the cheap bathmat.
“Oh no-” Skunk grinned at him and ran a towel over the boy. “You’re much prettier!”

Stick growled, grabbed his jammies and fled naked into the main room.

Skunk laughed and drained the tub. Then he stripped and had a bath- he wasn’t sure what Maer’yt had done to make the ‘shower’ function turn on and didn’t want to wake him up to ask.
“Ugh.” Even after the dip in the motel pool bits of ash and soot were still being washed out of his hair. Skunk leaned back under the faucet and let the warm water do the work for him. “Ohhh... feels good to be clean.”

He soaked awhile, his eyelids getting heavier as the water got colder. “Mmm… Gotta get up,” he muttered to himself. “Gonna drown in the tub ‘f I fall ‘sleep.” He hauled himself out of the tub, dried himself off and put on his pajamas. Then he finger combed his hair, and went out into the main room.

Stick was curled up beside Maer’yt, the little dragon between them, both fast asleep.
Skunk smiled at the sight, walked across the room to the door and made sure it was locked and bolted then clicked the light off. Then he crawled into the other bed, bounced a few times since the others couldn’t see and after a few minutes, went to sleep.


        Only a few minutes seemed to pass until someone hammered loudly on the door. Skunk abruptly sat up, awake and rubbed his eyes.  The gray light of dawn was just beginning to smear across the dirty window, making bright pinholes through the drawn fabric of the cheap floral print curtains.
The knocking came again.

“Ugghhh…” Skunk murmured and rolled out of bed. He slid a hand under the pillow and drew out a sheathed dagger. He flicked the button clasp loose and drew the blade. It glimmered evilly in the half-light. The young elf opened the door as far as the security chain would allow and peered out, knife hidden behind his back.

Charley Nez stood there, watching the sunrise over the rooftops and fading streetlights.
Vinuuth! Charllay? Don’t you ever sleep?” Skunk closed the door and slipped the chain to let the policeman in.

Charley stepped inside and closed the door behind him.  He glanced first at Skunk, sitting on his rumpled bed then across the room at the pile of blanket covered elves. He smiled and pitched his voice low. “Sorry. I just wanted to stop in and tell you Hosteen Begay and Lord Ravenata are back. They’re both okay and have the horses.”

“They are- they did?” Skunk grinned and sheathed his dagger, hiding it away in the small of his back. “Whew.”
Charley’s eyes widened. “Nice knife. You probably shouldn’t wear that around town- concealed weapons are, ah, frowned on you know.”
“Oh.” Skunk said agreeably. “Sure.”

“Anyway,” Charley said “They drove up to Hosteen Begay’s place late last night, after we left. We stationed an officer there in case the patrols missed them out on the Rez. He explained the situation as they settled the horses in and long story short they’re coming into town and want to meet you three at the Pancake House.”
“Pancake… House?” Skunk covered a yawn. “There are places open this early?”
Charley explained with a smile. “It’s a restaurant.  Never closes.”

Skunk nodded. “Should we get rooms for them here? Maer’yt probably has enough money.”

Charley considered this. “I’m not sure. Probably. But just to be safe- why don’t you ask them when you see them?”
Skunk nodded again. “Give me moment- I gotta get dressed, get the others up.”

“Sure” Charley said.

Skunk grabbed a handful of his clean clothing and his boots and trotted into the bathroom, closing the door primly behind him.

Charley sat in one of the two chairs provided and leaned his arm on the tiny table. He could hear the young elf turning on the taps and moving around in the other room. Then, abruptly Charley became aware of something else.
There was a pair of glowing cat-green eyes looking at him from the foot of the second bed, under a curl of the comforter.
Charley stared.

Then the blanket moved and a small figure clad in paw print pajamas bounced from that bed to the other, grinned up at Charley then bounced back to the other bed.

“Good morning Stick.” Charley said in English, smiling at the boy.
Stick gave Maer’yt a shove and said something in elvish to him.
The older elf wiggled with a soft sigh and pulled the blankets up more.
Stick climbed onto the older elf’s chest and rocked. “Ri deem Cowbooo!” He chirped and dug his heels in.
“Ung. ’S too early. G’back t’ bed.” Maer’yt muttered, rolled and bowled the little dark elf over.

“We watch a cowboy and indium movie on the tell you vision last night.” Skunk, dressed, explained. He tucked his neatly folded bedclothes into one of the packs, handed a second stack to the little one and shooed him into the bathroom.
Then he moved to sit on the edge of Maer’yt’s bed and shook his shoulder. “Hey! Get up. Charley is here. Mister Begay and Lord Ravanata want to meet us for flapjacks.”

Stick blundered out of the bathroom, one arm in the proper sleeve of his tee shirt, the other half out the neck. His head was somewhere in the middle and there was a visible strip of smooth dark flesh between the hem of the shirt and the top of his blue jeans.
Mmmm!!” The boy whimpered and bumped hard into the dresser. He fell backwards and wailed.

Charley stood and picked the boy up. He sat him on his knee, on the edge of the first bed and tugged the tee shirt off. “Shhh… Shh….” He dried Stick’s slow tears on a corner of the hem. “Right arm now, there we go! Left arm!”
Stick’s head popped out of the neck hole. His fine white hair stood straight up, crackling with static electricity.
A bright blue spark leapt across to Charley’s hand. He shook it out with a wince.
Skunk looked over at Charley curiously.
“Got two younger brothers.” He smiled and slid Stick off his lap.

Maer’yt threw the blankets back and slowly stood. The elf rose to his full height, somehow regal despite his rumpled bedclothes and the dark circles under his eyes. “Good morrow Officer Nez, boys.” He inclined his head slightly, the long blue braid slipping over his shoulder. “If you will excuse me.” He picked up his clothing from the pile on the dresser and turned into the bathroom.

“Fat jack!” Stick exclaimed. “Love fat jacks!”


       The Pancake House was an older restaurant and it showed. The floor was yellow rectangular tile, the cracks stained black from years of use. The tables were made from a faux wood finish and worn white from countless elbows. The booth seats were of a chocolate coloured plastic, formed all of one piece. There was a narrow countertop with a cash register, coffee maker and a fountain pop machine. Behind this was a well-used grill and on it sizzled fried eggs, hash browns and two fat greasy sausages.

The booth was crowded with the six people that squeezed into it. Sam, Charley and Skunk on one side, Ravanata and Maer’yt on the other with Stick between them, half on Ravanata’s lap. There was an array of drinks scattered on the table before them.

Maer’yt straightened his maroon silk cravat and flicked dust from the wide velvet cuffs of his brocade coat. He grinned. “Only you, Uncle, would take this coat on a camping tip.” He gestured down at himself, a picture of the ‘classic elf.’
The young Mexican cook behind the counter smirked over his shoulder and turned back to stir his hash browns.

Sam Begay smiled. “And all of you elves wear clothes like that?”
Skunk smiled slyly. “…No.” He wore a sudden impish expression as though he wanted to say something rude then one glance at Ravanata changed his mind. “Um. No… They wear as… ‘Sunday Best.’ That is the right phrase, yes?”

Stick escaped under the table and dashed across the narrow isle to the row of bar stools. He climbed onto one of the revolving stools and dug his fingers under the rim. He kicked one booted foot off the counter and spun and spun and spun. He giggled with each rotation.
“You’re going to make yourself sick” Ravanata warned the boy. “And yes, that’s correct.”

“We have to go out to the canyon again.” Maer’yt burst out and sighed. “There’s something weird going on and it started there.” He wore a wry grin. “Just what you wanted to do -I know- go for another long drive…”
Written between '06& '08....because I kinda forgot about it!

Part 4: [link]
Part 6: [link]

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